We are inching our way back north east across the equator and up into Mongolia this week. A wonderfully open and varied country, somewhere I always wanted to travel to/live in as a child, open spaces, big big skies, a nomadic life living in yurts, and best of all, all those horses! I was never terribly taken with the thought of fermented mare's milk, however, so it was probably just as well my childish dreams were never realised. As a girl in that environment and at that time, I would probably have spent my time sewing tents and clothing, cooking and cleaning harnesses instead...I had much more equality at home, even with three older brothers. I was a bit of a tomboy, back in the day, and I think I have rather outgrown that romantic and unrealistic idea now, but I still love the fact that horses in Mongolia outnumber the human population and are such an important part of the Mongolian lifestyle and culture.Elizabeth Kendall, in writing about the Mongolian horseman, described him as "like the Western cowboy, but with less sprawl", a descriptor I have always liked. Her book about her travels, "A Wayfarer in China", was published originally way back in 1913. What an intrepid woman she must have been.

Mongolia is a landlocked unitarysovereign state in East Asia, bordered by China to the south and Russia to the north. It is known for vast, rugged expanses and a hardy nomadic culture. Its capital, Ulaanbaatar, centers around Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) Square, named for the notorious founder of the 13th- and 14th-century Mongol Empire. Also in Ulaanbaatar are the National Museum of Mongolia, displaying historic and ethnographic artifacts, and the restored 1830 Gandantegchinlen MonasteryOne interesting fact I discovered about Genghis Khan during my reading for this week is that he is believed to have fathered between 1,000 and 2,000 children during his lifetime, and genetic analysis shows he is a male-line ancestor of 0.5% of the world's population...nomadic indeed!

The flower for this week was easy to decide, Scabiosa, (sounds like a charm from Harry Potter, doesn't it? I can just hear Hermione enunciating it clearly with emphasis on the last syllable as she demonstrates her wrist flick wand expertise)... sorry, got distracted there...Scabiosa Butterfly Blue was proclaimed the National flower for Mongolia back in 2014. It is a hardy perennial that I love to have growing in my own garden, they are such a pretty bluey mauve, and flower so generously with little attention...all big pluses!

Scabiosa Butterfly Blue...

The Scabiosa flower is believed to be related to the images depicted on the ornate silver embellishments on traditional Mongolian saddles...

The text mat is simply a sample of the Mongolian script, a visually beautiful text written vertically and from left to right.​

Things have been quiet hereabouts this past week, with Tim having been confined to bed with back pain caused by his ruthless cultivating of our side garden with his new toy...While he has been rather enjoying the attention and novelty of trays at mealtimes and endless uninterrupted online time, he is starting to get sick of the inaction I think...He actually got up and dressed this morning, hoping to go up to Orielton with Steve and Chris to continue the work on revamping Ken's orchard, but sadly had to admit defeat, and stay at home, resting.I made up for his disappointment by giving him a pile of box files and a container of archived documents I found while cleaning out the hall cupboards, for him to sort. He/we normally put these jobs off, but as he is a captive audience he had nowhere to run today! Lots of unwanted documents and bumf have been relegated to the compost bin and we now have empty (and dust free, thanks Chris, for the long, duster-wielding arm), shelves. One thing with a house that has been built with a generous supply of cupboards is that one tends to simply fill them...

I made this simple fruity bran loaf yesterday, from an old recipe from my file...it was rather good, contains no butter or egg and very little added sugar so is fairly reasonable for a treat for Tim...he seemed to enjoy it anyway, and Chris is devouring it with as great a gusto as I will allow...thought I would share it with you. I did not have any of the required processed bran (Allbran here in Australia...little crispy fibre based cereal strands like shredded straw), so I used my unprocessed oat bran instead, with good outcome, although the loaf is a tad denser than I remember the original version to be. It is nice as is, the sultanas providing sweetness and the apricots a touch of tart interest, with a crispy crust and dense moist interior, it was even nicer spread with butter for morning tea.

I also made a lovely dense Pumpkin and Ginger chutney at the weekend...still working my way through this years pumpkin harvest...I made some little digital labels for the jar tops, they are easier to see on the shelf and help to hide the recycled jar tops...image from the Graphics Fairy, that source of many digital images.

Chris and I had a walk around our little creek on Saturday after a trip to the library, some of the trees have been very slow to lose their leaves, but no wonder as it has been quite warm and fairly dry.

These tiny crab apples are pretty well bletted now, after a couple of frosts, but were being devoured with great relish by a few blackbirds...

My new very chunky mohair handspun hat...very warm!

Oxalis, looks like shamrock...growing on a rocky bank with many pretty bell shaped flowers...

​Toadstools and a pretty yellow (unknown) climbing flowering plant finished off our photos from the walk...

Today I had a lovely gnome related postcard from my peripatetic friends, currently exploring Scandinavia and points north. They tell me they have enjoyed eating a brown goat's milk cheese...I wonder if it was brunost cheese they tried...long ago I had a Norwegian friend called Odd who made this delicious cheese, and also gomme, from milk produced by his goats and I have very fond memories of the flavour...I hope they bring some home for me...(wishful thinking here as I won't be seeing them until the end of this year!)

A lovely interesting post once again, and we have both chosen the scabiosa. I must get some for my garden. I had to laugh about you giving the sorting job to Tim, nothing quite like getting them cornered is there ! Your loaf looks delicious, but as I am pre diabetic I have stopped baking now.
Hugs Wendy

Thanks Wendy...I cook very sparingly now, and mainly things that Tim can eat, in limited portions which have very reduced sugar and fat content...if I don't have something suitable for occasional treats for him, he simply buys terribly unsuitable things and indulges! Men!

Reply

Jolande

2/7/2018 19:21:49

Your flower inchie for Mongolia is beautiful as always.
I had a quick scroll through the inchies you made when I was on vacation and they are wonderful. I really wish I could see your book with my own eyes someday.

Was wondering how you were, not having seen a video from you for a month or so. Thought you were in Mongolia when I started reading 😁 Hubby made marmalade, looks like it's winter preserving time (it's in my latest 5min vid too). I'm off to read some more. Cold as here, 3 deg overnight! xx - Hillie

Oh, I wish I was in Mongolia, or somewhere for a change, but no hope of that. I have been having a quiet time, completely lost any interest in crafting,I have been catching up on my reading and dealing with a small avalanche of family matters...I will get back to it in time, just taking some time out. I saw your video pop up the other day, I will check it out, (I haven't even been watching any YT either), bye for now, and thanks for the comment,
D

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Hello, I'm Di...I live in beautiful Tasmania, I enjoy making cards and journals for special folk.